Thankful for what's really important

Sunday

Jan 20, 2013 at 11:00 AM

Hope all of you had a great Christmas and equally enjoyable New Year's spent with friends and family.

Thad AngellozColumnist

Hope all of you had a great Christmas and equally enjoyable New Year's spent with friends and family.As most of you know, I have this spot reserved for my ramblings once every five weeks.At one point in my journalistic career, I wrote a column every other week, so it didn't take me near as long to catch people up on what had been going on in my life.Given how we have just emerged from the holiday season and my last column came out prior to Christmas, I thought it would be appropriate to write about feeling blessed.I am blessed to have two healthy, happy children and also blessed to have a kind, caring family that gets along well with one another, despite all the ups and downs of life.Like many of you, I made the most of my time spent with my immediate family during Christmas.After battling a virus that began on Christmas Day and lasted through most of the proceeding weekend, I got better just in time to help host our annual New Year's Eve celebration.You may or may not be asking yourself what an Angelloz New Year's event consists of.Well, as I like to describe to those that might be stopping in for the first time, it features fireworks, children, food, refreshments of all kinds and most importantly — fun.These are some of the highlights, but the most important ingredient at our parties is the people that make the celebration what it is.And, that's why I think this year's party felt a little different to me personally.Unlike previous year's, I caught myself embracing more of the moments spent with my friends and family than in the past.Don't get me wrong; I've always enjoyed our yearly gatherings, but this time had a deeper meaning to me.Maybe it is because of the recent school shooting in Connecticut or just the fact that I'm getting a bit older, but I'm starting to find myself feeling somewhat more sentimental about things than was the case only a few short years ago.Throughout the evening, I couldn't help myself from looking around at those in attendance and smiling. The people gathered under my roof that evening mean the world to me, and I'd do anything for each and every one of them if they needed it — and vice-versa. I was surrounded by familiar faces as I glanced around the room. Some of the people there had attended past parties, while others were new to our annual Angelloz throw down. There was laughter, kids playing and an overall joy of sharing the company of such an amazing group of people.Each of my guests have great qualities that anyone would be honored to be around if only for a little while, let alone an entire evening.To me, New Year's is about celebrating the past year's memories and looking forward to a slew of additional memories to follow. And let me tell you, those individuals in that room when we rung in the new year don't understand just how much their friendships mean to me and my wife. Sometimes we take friends and family for granted, but like anything, they can leave our lives in an instant.As I get older, I've grown to appreciate those brief moments where we can all enjoy life together and have fun, while also understanding there will be tough times that lay ahead where all of us will be counted on to support and comfort each other when things aren't so joyous.That's what makes gatherings like ours so important. When you get together with your family during the holiday season and every one you are celebrating those moments with is in good health, you should take a moment and give thanks because that is a blessing.On that night, that's exactly what we had. The adults in that room were in good health. The kids playing with one another were happy, and life couldn't really have been any better.So, in closing, I just want to take a minute to thank my friends and family for adding such immense joy to me and my wife's life. Since it will be another few weeks till I write my next column, I would like to wish everyone a happy and blessed New Year.